Buzz 8 in 8: Busting 2010 Topps National Chicle MLB (Hour 4)

Do you like Buzz Breaks? Today's your day then as we launch 8 in 8 -- a series of a eight breaks of wax boxes and wax packs in as many hours today. We'll post one every hour ... this is Hour 4.

The box: 2010 Topps National Chicle baseball cards (hobby box)
The cost: Will vary when found (click here when available)

What's inside this one? Keep reading ...

Packs per box: 25 (24 standard, one box-topper)
Cards per pack: 8
Cards in this box: 191
Base set completion: 
171 of 275 (62 percent)
Duplicates: 0

Notables on base cards – Mickey Mantle, Ryne Sandberg, Stan Musial, Jackie Robinson, Tim Wakefield, Christy Mathewson, Warren Spahn, Duke Snider, Robin Yount, Lou Gehrig, Frank Robinson, Mel Ott, Luis Aparicio, Pee Wee Reese, Lou Brock, Roy Halladay, Thurman Munson, Carl Yastrzemski, Derek Jeter, Tom Seaver, Hank Greenberg, Vladimir Guerrero, Roy Campanella, Jim Palmer, Babe Ruth, Carlton Fisk, Dale Murphy, Phil Rizzuto, Bob Gibson, Al Kaline, Joe Morgan, Nick Swisher, Paul Molitor, Jimmie Foxx, Whitey Ford, Johnny Mize, Ken Griffey Jr., Cy Young, Rogers Hornsby, Walter Johnson, Ernie Banks, Nolan Ryan

Rookie Cards (11) – Buster Posey, Carlos Carrasco, Drew Stubbs, Kevin Richardson, Juan Francisco, Michael Brantley, Neil Walker, Eric Young Jr., Tobi Stoner, Luis Durango, Reid Gorecki

Inserts: 17 (all in gallery below with some base)
National Chicle Cabinet (1) – Nolan Ryan (box-topper)
Short-prints (Nos. 276-329) (6) – Pee Wee Reese, Lou Gehrig, Jimmie Foxx, Honus Wagner, Buster Posey, Adam Moore
National Chicle back (6) – Mariano Rivera, Koji Uehara, Bengie Molina, Jermaine Dye, Jose Reyes, Tommy Hanson
Bazooka back (3) – Honus Wagner, Juan Pierre, Tommy Manuela
Topps Umbrella Black back (1) – Carlton Fisk (/25)

Autographs/Memorabilia: 3
Bazooka Relics (1) – Alex Rodriguez (/99)
Autographs (1) – Gordon Beckham
National Chicle back autographs (1) – Jason Bartlett (/199)

What's Buzz-worthy: This release was a love-hate one for some collectors out there -- they loved to hate it -- as not all of the artists' renditions were photo-exact and that's something that seems to resonate more with collectors. (For the record, it doesn't have to.) There also were a few subsets here that added a twist to the designs with one being "Retired Stars Revisited" which put past players into modern uniforms on short-printed cards -- the Babe Ruth card at right is one I didn't pull but wanted to. People loved to hate it back then but I actually liked this twist for an MLB legend (who did play for the Braves ... just not in Atlanta). Another was Vintage Veterans that put today's guys into yesteryear's gear and then Rookie Renditions that used past Topps designs as part of the drawn artwork instead of the 1930s design that most of this set carries. Some good autos can be found here with Stan Musial, Ryan Howard, Carl Yastrzemski, Madison Bumgarner, Miguel Cabrera and Vladimir Guerrero among the autograph sets. Also unique here? Autographs from the 12 artists who did the work for this one -- Jeff Zachowski, Chris Felix, Monty Sheldon, Ken Branch, Brian Kong, Don Higgins, Jason Davies, Brett Farr, Mike Kupka, Chris Henderson, Dave Hobrecht and Paul Lempa. The Relics list also includes some big cards like Mickey Mantle, Lou Gehrig and Babe Ruth. Card backs are where parallels happen here on all card types and those don't necessarily spark a lot of interest. The National Chicle back auto here is one in 126 packs, while the Relic is one in 174 and the Fisk base parallel is one in 82. Not the flashiest cards but together they make this a pretty good box. (Not that fun of a box but a good box.) The Cabinet cards are the home of artist ink in some instances and I like toppers in general as they are immediately rarer and can sell for more than you might think. (A card like my Ryan sold for $12 on eBay last I looked.) Autographs here are on-card, too, which people preach about, though the list of signers hasn't aged all that well. The SPs section of the set has a lot of good stuff we didn't see here, but as you can see from the list of notables it's a set packed with Hall of Famers. You don't see these boxes pop up as much as in the past so I figured I'd rip one here to revisit the line since The Living Set has been well-received the last couple years. You never know if this brand might make a comeback if Gallery needs some time off in coming years or if people want more art sets. My only big worry with this box was how so many of my key names were off-centered here. Otherwise, I didn't hate the break. If you can find these boxes on the lower side (around $80) they are worth a look. I wouldn't overpay on this one, though, as the checklist (again) hasn't aged all that well.

Product Grade: B+
Box Grade: A (two parallel hits are tougher pulls odds-wise)
Fun Grade: B- (off-centered cards on a lot of key names hurt here)

What's next? Be back in an hour ...

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